


Forgetting to Remember (to be afraid)

by newyorktopaloalto



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Antique Shops, Canon Ambiguous, Dolls That Look Disturbingly Like You/Your Friends, Gen, There's something afoot at the Circle-K
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 15:17:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20293606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/newyorktopaloalto/pseuds/newyorktopaloalto
Summary: Sometimes it's cool when you find dolls that look like you and your siblings - this is most definitely not one of those times.[Five has A Plan and the rest of the siblings are forced to tag along.]





	Forgetting to Remember (to be afraid)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ConvenientAlias](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConvenientAlias/gifts).

> Disclaimer: I do not own The Umbrella Academy. Title is a butchered quote from the movie _9_.
> 
> I hope you enjoy - I had so much fun with your request, so thank you for signing up!

“Why don’t we just get that?” 

“Feels wrong.” 

Klaus sneered, exaggerated, at Five’s back, before flipping through a haphazardly placed pile of chintz patterned dishware. 

“Well, if not _this_ \- " Klaus scrutinized a pair of wire-framed glasses as though they held the answer to the universe, "- then what are we looking for?” 

“Won’t know until I find it.” 

“That’s helpful,” Klaus said. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re just a well of information? The things I could learn from hearing you talk…” He trailed off when Five continued to ignore him and peered over Allison’s shoulder. 

“What do you have there?” He saw a glimpse of the doll before Allison shoved it back. “A doll? Is it for your daughter?” 

“What does it look like?” Five asked the question before Allison could, most likely, tell Klaus to fuck off and leave her alone to her searching. 

“Kind of like Vanya,” Allison replied. 

“Grab it.” 

“Why?” Diego asked as Klaus grabbed the doll and threw it past Luther and to where Five was waiting for interception. 

“It really looks like me?” Klaus heard Vanya ask Five, before he was distracted from his siblings’ conversation and to where Ben was gesturing at him. 

“I found one that looks like you,” he explained, pointing at the doll in the back corner of the store. 

“That’s no bueno,” Klaus said, not as willing to handle this second look-alike doll - if it were their child counterparts, he might not have been so disconcerted. 

“Hey, there’s one here of me - I got a little coat and everything.” 

“Are these what you’re looking for?” Luther demanded, barreling his way over to Klaus and scrutinizing the doll that he had pointed out. 

“Most likely,” Five said, not even bothering to look back at where Luther was now poking at the little Klaus doll. “So find the others.” 

“Why are we even looking for these anyways?” Diego’s complaint was ignored, and so was Vanya’s reiteration of his question. 

“I can almost feel that, you know,” Klaus told Luther, hooding his eyes a little and grinning as Luther threw the doll to where Five was gesturing for it. “Awww, you don’t wanna play with the dollie?” 

“Can you two stop.” 

“I’m not even doing anything, _Diego_, as usual it was all Klaus.” 

“I don’t actually care,” Diego said, a sniper from the side, “I just want you two to shut up for like five minutes - is that something you think you can do?” 

“Probably not,” Klaus replied. “But you’re more than welcome to try and make me.” 

“I’ll pass, thanks.” The ‘thanks’, however, sounded more like ‘fuck off’ and Klaus gave Diego a rude gesture in return. 

“Can we focus, please? God, you’re all like children.” 

“Says the child,” Allison sniped back at Five, placing a doll that looked remarkably like Ben back onto the shelf where she had found it. 

“Hey, we should keep that one,” Klaus said, looking over at Ben, who nodded, before continuing with, “It looks like Ben.” 

“Yeah, sure,” Luther said, “and you know this how?” 

“How do I know?” Klaus asked rhetorically. “I literally see dead people, that’s how I know, Luther.” 

About to respond, Luther was interrupted by Vanya saying, “There’s no harm in keeping it as well.” 

“Maybe some monetary harm,” Diego responded, whistling at the price tag on some tchotchke that Klaus wouldn’t have been able to name if his life depended on it. 

“That’s what Allison’s for.” 

“That’s not what Allison’s for,” Luther argued hotly, but by Five’s insouciant shrug, his words hit nowhere close to home. 

The rest of the siblings’ arguments slid past Klaus as he wended his way through the shelves of the small antique store - the shelves were leading him somewhere, he was sure of it, but when he came face-to-face with a dimly lit staircase leading into a basement, he stopped himself from continuing to follow the signs. 

“The rest of what you’re looking for’s down there.” 

“I’m sure it is,” Klaus said, turning to face the ghost - she didn’t look much changed, considering. 

“Where’s -?”

“In the basement.” 

“Of course.” 

He sighed and gave a sharp whistle, garnering the attention of his siblings as they, one by one, made their way over. 

“Okay, so, we have to go down there for the rest. And whoever’s down there definitely killed a chick.” 

“A murderer is the least of our problems.” Five dismissed any other concerns with an impatient wave of his hand before straightening his shoulders and heading down the steps. 

“Oh, they’re creaking,” Klaus muttered as he brought up the rear, letting Vanya pass him with an exaggerated bowing motion. “Because that’s not like a horror movie at all.” 

“Please don’t talk about horror movies,” Allison said from halfway down the stairs. “I do not need that in my life right now.” 

“Employees only.” 

The woman who blocked Five’s path seemed to fit in all too well with her surroundings - she looked young, maybe a few years older than all of them, but something about her faded into the background, as though she had been sitting in this little shop for decades. 

“I’m sorry, miss,” Five said smoothly, holding up the three dolls that he had in his hands, “but I was wondering if you had the rest of this set? I want to get them as a present for my little sister.” 

“What brought you to decide upon those dolls?” 

Five shrugged and didn’t offer an explanation; the proprietor seemed to understand his lack of response, however, and grinned as she looked from the dolls to the six of them standing awkwardly on the stairs. 

“Yes, I have the rest down here. I make them myself.” She turned, obviously expecting them all to follow her. “It’s fortuitous you’ve come today - I’ve just finished with the last one.” 

“Yeah, of course, because that makes sense.” 

Vanya turned around to shoot him an inscrutable look, and Klaus grimaced as they continued their trek down to the probable murder room that waited for them when they walked through the curtain. 

“The other four.”

She presented the dolls to Five, who eyed them with a slight twist in his lips. 

“How much do we owe you?” he asked, and Klaus really did not enjoy the way she grinned at the question - her teeth were perfectly white, straight, and almost a little too large for her face. 

“I do not accept monetary payment.” 

“What _do_ you take?” Luther was all bluster, shoulders straightened back and body pressed against his outfit as though it wanted to break away from its constraints. 

“Pick up your personal representation and find out.” 

They were silent for a few moments. 

“I’m sorry what?” Klaus asked, his question overshadowed by Diego’s ‘no way in hell am I going to do that.’ 

“Each price is different, but it is a price all the same. What it is depends on what needs to be taken.” 

“That’s not an answer,” Vanya said. 

“I do not have another.”

Five gestured towards the doll that looked like him - the glaring difference between he and his siblings on full-display in both reality and in replication - and was handed it with a flourish that reminded Klaus of every villain in every fairy tale that he had ever read. 

They were silent as they watched Five with trepidation. 

“Nothing happened,” Luther said after a few moments, before taking his own doll out of the woman’s hands. 

“Something will,” she promised. “It just might come when you least expect it.” 

Luther grimaced, but kept hold of his doll. He handed Allison’s to her, and tossed Diego’s over his shoulder to where Diego was slouching against the wall closest to the stairwell. 

“Here.” 

Before Klaus could protest, he was handed both Ben’s doll and his own. 

“Since you’re the closest we’ll get to Ben being here.” 

Unable to argue with Five’s logic, and unwilling to argue with Ben’s curiosity, Klaus tucked his doll into his pocket and dangled the Ben doll by its hand to better show it to him. 

“Weird,” Ben said, but Klaus could barely hear it over Vanya’s little shriek as she dropped her doll. 

A glass broke in the corner. 

“Interesting,” the woman said. “If you pick it up again, girl, nothing will happen - you’ve taken on one of my woes, and that doll is now just its shell.” 

“I’m sorry?” 

“It has been paid for now.” The woman waved them off, then. “You may leave. I will not see you again, I don’t think.” 

“Wait a minute -” Luther started, but the woman walked through a door and closed it behind her. 

“Well, she’s done talking, I guess,” Klaus said, looking around at the rest of his siblings before making his way up the stairs. “Come on, then, she might kill us if we stay down there, who fucking knows? I sure don’t.” 

“I don’t want to,” he heard Allison say from behind him, and her heels clicked up the stairs as she followed. 

“You shouldn’t have taken that doll.” 

“I shouldn’t do a lot of things, but here I am.” Klaus shot a glance at the ghost before lowering his voice. “Why not?” 

“It’s all a curse,” she said. “In some way or another. My mother made one of herself, first - I died because of it.” 

“That’s sad,” Klaus said. “No, really, it totally is. But I’m gonna have to go now, so have fun haunting your mother, okay?” 

“Klaus!” 

“I’m coming, Luther, Jesus Christ!” 

He shrugged at the ghost and jogged over to the entrance of the shop, exiting into the afternoon light behind Luther. 

“Okay, now what?” 

“Now we go back,” Five said. “None of this will be able to mess up my plans anymore.” 

“What plans?” Vanya asked as they all started to walk back to the house. 

“I’ll tell you if they work,” Five replied, ignoring Diego’s reiteration of Vanya’s complaint. 

“I’ve found out your payment.” 

Klaus whipped around and found himself face-to-face with the ghost he thought he had left in the shop. 

“The souls you encounter will no longer be bound.” 

“What does that mean?” Klaus asked, a sinking feeling in his gut as the ghost smiled at him. 

“Would you stay with the person that killed you, or would you go with the one who freed you?” 

Klaus closed his eyes. “Fuck me, this _is_ a curse.” 

“What’s a curse?” 

He turned to Diego, whose entire demeanor screamed impatience at having to head back to where Klaus was acting, undoubtedly, like a crazy person. 

“Everything’s a curse, man,” he said in reply, not really wanting to explain what was happening to him - he might have liked being the center of attention, but there were limits to that, and interrogation was definitely one of the hard ones. 

“Ain’t that the goddamn truth.” Diego clapped his hand on Klaus’ shoulder and led him back towards where the rest had stopped at the end of the block, waiting for the two of them to catch up. 

“The world has changed quite a lot,” the ghost said from behind Klaus. 

“Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you woke up one day and everything was different?” 

“I’ve done it,” Diego said. 

“Yeah,” Klaus agreed. “But I’d like to think that the first time is special, you know?” 

“You’re fuckin’ strange, man.” 

Klaus grinned. “Takes one to know one, my dude.

“Let’s try to get the plan out of Five, what do you say? You hold him and I’ll interrogate.” 

“You got yourself a deal, Klaus.” 

They shook hands, and grinned at Allison’s suspicious glare at their gesture. 

“What just happened?” she asked. 

“Absolutely nothing,” Klaus said insincerely, knowing that Diego’s nodding wasn’t helping their case whatsoever. 

“Uh-huh,” was all she responded with. “I hope it has nothing to do with getting Five to talk. Because I would help you with that ‘nothing’, if that’s the case.” 

“Allison,” Klaus gasped, putting his hand to his heart in faux-shock. “How could you even imply something like that?” 

“We wouldn’t even think it,” Diego continued easily. “But if we did, we wouldn’t say no to help.” 

“I’ll tell Vanya and Luther.” 

“Five against Five,” Klaus said. “Now that’s an interesting turn of events.” 

“Oh my God,” Diego groaned, wincing as though Klaus’ words physically pained him. “That was the worst joke you’ve ever told me.” 

“Even worse than ‘Strawberry Love’?”

“Don’t even mention that again, you fucking freak - I wanted to kill you for that.” 

Klaus laughed and ignored the second strange ghost that had peeled itself away from the person who killed him and onto where Klaus was walking. He could ignore them - it would be easier than ignoring the ones that had followed him back through time, after all.


End file.
